Worn adjustable screen cables

MeticulousRhino

Dear All,

The adjustable screen on my ST jammed the other day as I was riding back at speed. Upon inspection, I found a difference of about 1" (3 cm) between the two screen brackets. The two slides no longer raise and lower at the same time (see attached picture).

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I took the mechanism apart today, cleaned the slides, cleaned and greased the cables and reassembled. The cables looked a little worn but I thought it would be worth a try. Unfortunately, the slides don't remain synchronised as I raise and lower the screen so I suspect that the cables are too damaged for the worm screen to grip them properly.

Since the slides have been collecting dirt and grime for 7 years and they were rather hard to move, I believe the cables have worn out prematurely.

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I have looked for spare parts on the Ron Ayres site (windscreen microfiche) and it seems that I can only buy a complete unit under the cryptic name of "adjuster" 64170-MCS-G00 or 64170-MCS-G01.

Does anybody know if I can only buy the cables/sliders as shown in the picture? Please excuse my grubby hands!

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Many thanks for your help,

Mark
 

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They only sell it as a complete assembly. Mine is shot as well and has the same issue where one side skips a tooth every time it is raised. It is to the point right now where the windscreen is mounted with only one bolt on one side and two on the other. After the holidays I plan on tearing into it to see what it looks like. I have read where the teeth of the drive gear wear and strip as well as the cables. I thought I read where someone thought it might be possible to swap the cables from the left to right side. It depends on how they attach to the brackets. As I said I haven't ripped mine apart yet so I can't confirm. My plan is to make a set of shims to raise the motor and drive gear a little so they run on fresh teeth. That won't help if it is the cables that are shot. If I raise the mechanism without the windscreen I can see it skip 2-3 times so that leads me to believe that it is either a tooth gone on the drive gear or several teeth gone on the cable. Odds are in my case it is the drive gear.

We have been contemplating other options to replace this since Honda won't sell us the parts. I was thinking linear actuator but I don't know that it will work as I want. Keep in mind that the wind screen changes angles as it moves. It isn't totally ruled out yet but odds are it won't work as I want. Another idea in the works is to see if the cable driven system out of a cages power windows might work. We know that GM uses a cable driven system kind of like that on the 1300 in their full sized trucks. They are available on ebay for 40-60. I would try and pick up one at a junk yard first but it is another possibility.

Sure the 1300 mechanisms pop up on ebay now and then. The problem is that everyone that I have seen goes for over $200. For that much it isn't that much more to just bite the bullet and get a new one. The used one on ebay would have unknown life left in it and since many of these are off wrecked bikes they could be damaged. I saw one a while back go for $220 that had visible damage.

I wish they would sell the cables and gear as a refurbishment kit. There sure is a demand for it as many of us have had this failure but it is only sold as a non-serviceable assembly.
 
sennister said:
I thought I read where someone thought it might be possible to swap the cables from the left to right side. It depends on how they attach to the brackets.
Click to expand...
My cables are crimped either side so I can't swap sides and I can't flip them upside down either.

I like you idea of shims. My cables are worn over quite a length so it wouldn't be possible to use a different area.

I'll keep you posted on options. This sounds like an expensive fix :(
 
MeticulousRhino said:
My cables are crimped either side so I can't swap sides and I can't flip them upside down either.

I like you idea of shims. My cables are worn over quite a length so it wouldn't be possible to use a different area.

I'll keep you posted on options. This sounds like an expensive fix :(
Click to expand...

If they crimped then you are probably right, not much can be done if the cables are shot.

It would be nice if they sold just the parts that we needed. I agree, it won't be cheap to fix.
 
Shadowfax has suffered the same most of this year. I used 'shims' to increase the friction of the cable against the motor gear, which worked for 'emergency' use for a while. On inspection, the assembly is pretty easy to take apart and its only the cable covering that is worn. Why Honda can't supply individual parts, I don't know.

I guess there are a few of us acting like vultures everytime a bike drops. A new one here is ?245 but with the new tax increase unlikley - the eBay ones are either broken or go for near new price. What's an owner to do?

Meanwhile, let's take a peek see.

sennister said:
Here is a link to the thread where I was discussing this and other options with members
Click to expand...
 
Shadowfax-ST said:
Shadowfax has suffered the same most of this year. I used 'shims' to increase the friction of the cable against the motor gear, which worked for 'emergency' use for a while. On inspection, the assembly is pretty easy to take apart and its only the cable covering that is worn. Why Honda can't supply individual parts, I don't know.

I guess there are a few of us acting like vultures everytime a bike drops. A new one here is ?245 but with the new tax increase unlikley - the eBay ones are either broken or go for near new price. What's an owner to do?

Meanwhile, let's take a peek see.
Click to expand...

The shims I am thinking about making won't increase pressure. Now I haven't taken mine apart yet so this may not work, but from what I saw there is a drive gear that wears in two spots where the cables ride. I was thinking about lifting the drive gear up a little in the mechanism by letting it ride on a shim so the cables now contact a different part of the drive gear. It will now be riding on fresh teeth. At least that part. It won't help the worn cable issue and that will likely be the next point of failure as they both seem to be an issue. I would also have to make shims the same size to go on the mounting bolts for the motor to hold that out a little more. Keep in mind I have a metal lathe so I can machine the shims out of aluminum or something that I have laying around the shop. So I won't be limited to what is around in a hardware store. I will likely fabricate something custom for this. If I can't shim the gear up I may shim it down by taking the drive gear out and machining that so that it changes the point of contact. I will then likely have to fabricate an extension of some sort so the motor can still contact the drive gear.

Either way I have some ideas but until I tear into it I won't know the solution. I will document it on the original thread that I linked to above.
 
sennister said:
The shims I am thinking about making won't increase pressure. Now I haven't taken mine apart yet so this may not work, but from what I saw there is a drive gear that wears in two spots where the cables ride.
Click to expand...

You will have to see what the situation is when you open the unit up but on mine, the drive gear is in good condition and it is the cables that need replacing.

You'll find that the casing is rather elaborate due to rubber seals that prevent water ingress. Shimming the unit will be a great challenge and an interesting project.

I would guess that if your drive gear is damaged and not the cables, your best bet would be to get a second hand drive motor from some poor hapless soul that has bought a new unit. :D

I hope to go to Honda on Thursday so will see what the price is over here.
 
I went to the local Honda dealer today. I asked him how much the windcreen height adjustment unit would cost: an arm? a leg?

The answer is both! The full price is 560 EUR... I grovelled :bow1: and pleaded and managed to get 15% off but that's about it. That leaves it at a hefty 480 EUR.

I haven't been able to find a crashed ST in my area or any second hand parts in the area so I ordered it.

Please don't tell me you've found a really cheap unit, brand new on eBay...
 
MeticulousRhino said:
I went to the local Honda dealer today. I asked him how much the windcreen height adjustment unit would cost: an arm? a leg?

The answer is both! The full price is 560 EUR... I grovelled :bow1: and pleaded and managed to get 15% off but that's about it. That leaves it at a hefty 480 EUR.

I haven't been able to find a crashed ST in my area or any second hand parts in the area so I ordered it.

Please don't tell me you've found a really cheap unit, brand new on eBay...
Click to expand...


Okay, I won't! :D

Because I haven't! :eek::
 
Honda ST1300 Pan European Electric Screen Assembly
Recently on eBay in the UK:

Honda ST1300 Pan European Electric Screen Assembly

Ebay condition definition:
"For parts or not working: An item that does not function as intended and is not fully operational. This includes items that are defective in ways that render them difficult to use, items that require service or repair, or items missing essential components... "

Seller's description
"I Got This When I Bought My Pan, The Previous Owner Said One Wire Had Broke So He Had To Replace All Of The Assembly, This Is The Old One Complete With Electric Motor And Fittings. I Know It Cost Over ?200 To Replace, So This May Come In Handy To Someone Out There."

Sold for:

?150 / $231.40 / 176.46 Euro :eek:

STealer quote for brand new:

?252.45 / $389.45 / 296.98 Euro (incl. order charge and VAT)

:think1:

Why would anyone buy the duff one? Even stripping out the motor is worth only ?50 / $77.14estimate on eBay :shrug1:

Hey: ?252.45 - ?50 (motor sale)... that's ?202.45 / $312.34 / 238.16 Euro balance...hmm...it's begining to sound attractive...but still the price of a fitted set of RP2s needed mid January, or a heated seat...:shrug2:
 
Yes, it is a manual adjust in a way - a combination of motor and shoving/pulling but that's no use changing speed or reacting to the weather, etc. You can't beat the luxury of finite adjustment by remote and still rolling control?
 
Just a quick update on what you get for your money. Below is a picture of the new unit. It comes complete with limit switches. It is a 10 minute job to replace.

P1010025s.jpgP1010026s.jpg

I can see that spare parts are cheaper in the UK even with the exchange rate. I'll keep that in mind for the next time. Here in Nantes all small STealers have been wiped and there is only one motorcycle shop that carries all brands. The owner is not interested in motorcycles and considers the shop as an investment. No competition, no effort on prices :-(

I now have some spares available if somebody is interested: motor assembly, limit switches, anything but the cables.
 
MeticulousRhino said:
Just a quick update on what you get for your money. Below is a picture of the new unit. It comes complete with limit switches. It is a 10 minute job to replace.

P1010025s.jpgP1010026s.jpg

I can see that spare parts are cheaper in the UK even with the exchange rate. I'll keep that in mind for the next time. Here in Nantes all small STealers have been wiped and there is only one motorcycle shop that carries all brands. The owner is not interested in motorcycles and considers the shop as an investment. No competition, no effort on prices :-(

I now have some spares available if somebody is interested: motor assembly, limit switches, anything but the cables.
Click to expand...

I see you have to move the brackets over that the windscreen mounts to. By chance did you pull the cables out of the motor and see how easily they moved?

I really think that a big part of why mine failed was the resistance in the mechanism. It wasn't binding up anywhere but the grease used to lube it was about as thick as wax and sticky. Even with the motor out and the cables removed from their guides I could barely move the mechanism through the range of motion. I cleaned out all the old grease and used some new grease and things improved greatly. Now it is winter here an cold but I was doing this work in my heated shop that was at about 60*F (15*C) at the time. I ride it temps much lower than this and when my failure occurred I was actually stopped and was raising the shield as it was about 30*F (-1*C). At those temps I would hate to see how much resistance was on the system.

If I replace the mechanism with a new one. I think the first thing I will do is take it apart and clean out all the grease and relube with something else. Then I will make it part of my winter maintenance to remove/clean/relube the guides and cables. There is no reason for there to be this much resistance in the mechanism and it is setting it up for failure. For me I think this is the source of why mine failed. I spoke to another member who had his bike apart to do a HID upgrade. He checked his by pulling the cables from the motor and discovered the same thing. He could not move the mechanism by hand with the cables out of the guides. He used to work on automatic lifts on garage doors and knew that this would limit the life of the components unless something was done.
 
Yes, I pulled the cables out and found exactly the same as you did. I could barely move the slides. I think that it is an accumulation of factors: with time the grease solidifies and the slides collect dust from the road despite the protective rubber flap.

When the mechanism puts up too much resistance, the worm screw chews through the cables.

The new unit also answered one of my previous questions: when I took the unit apart for the first time, cleaned it and greased it, I wasn't sure how much grease I was supposed to apply. On a new unit, grease is applied liberally on the cables, inside the mechanism and on the sliders. The slides themselves are not greased (I suppose they would pick up grime too quickly).

I think you are right and I will also put this on my winter maintenance list. I'm not sure what grease to use though. I use to work in the automotive industry and my suppliers (clutch cables and likewise) used a white grease that looks and tastes :)D) very similar to the one used on this mechanism. It is specifically used for cables.

Any ideas what grease would be best?
 
MeticulousRhino said:
Yes, I pulled the cables out and found exactly the same as you did. I could barely move the slides. I think that it is an accumulation of factors: with time the grease solidifies and the slides collect dust from the road despite the protective rubber flap.

When the mechanism puts up too much resistance, the worm screw chews through the cables.

The new unit also answered one of my previous questions: when I took the unit apart for the first time, cleaned it and greased it, I wasn't sure how much grease I was supposed to apply. On a new unit, grease is applied liberally on the cables, inside the mechanism and on the sliders. The slides themselves are not greased (I suppose they would pick up grime too quickly).

I think you are right and I will also put this on my winter maintenance list. I'm not sure what grease to use though. I use to work in the automotive industry and my suppliers (clutch cables and likewise) used a white grease that looks and tastes :)D) very similar to the one used on this mechanism. It is specifically used for cables.

Any ideas what grease would be best?
Click to expand...

Hi MR,

I'm the other guy Sennister was referring to. I have just one question: Am I reading correctly that on the brand new one there is NO grease in the tracks that the plastic blocks slide in? I greased mine and I'm thinking maybe I should clean them and put them in dry?

Thanks,

Mark
 
As for what is best it is hard to say. What I tried in my shop with the old one is white lithium grease we can get it in a spray can so application is easy. It is likely the same stuff that you mentioned is used in clutch cables and such.

I agree that age and dirt are likely things that may have played part in this. My bike is also an 03 the other member that tried this did so on an 06. His were also very sticky. He noted this in about the same temps as what I did.

Another grease I thought about using is some of the Moly paste that we use on the splines. That might work as well.
 
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